Davis moves into semi-retirement with a focus on Preston Family Foundation work
Friday marked the transfer of Field & Main Bank into the ownership of Stock Yards Bank & Trust, but F&M account holders won’t see much change for months.
Former F&M CEO and Chairman Scott Davis described the transition as on paper only with signatures making it official. But the work of moving the operations system from one company to the other will take months, he said.
Some of the transference will have to be done manually, which Davis said can be a laborious process.
An email message to F&M customers Friday morning said the anticipated official conversion date is Oct. 19, 2026.
In the meantime, customers can continue business as usual, including using Field & Main checks and cards, he said.
As the complete transition draws near, Stock Yards will send out notices to customers saying that the conversion is coming with instructions, Davis said.
In an email message with the subject “Welcome to Stock Yards Bank & Trust” that was sent to customers Friday morning, the banks said, “No changes will occur to your accounts or to the Field & Main Bank locations until the formal conversion process takes place.”
Additionally, the banks said to continue conducting business “as you have in the past” and added that office hours at bank lobbies and drive-through locations will not change. Access to accounts will still be through Field & Main Bank’s online banking services, said the message.
Ja Hillebrand, the CEO and chairman of the board for Stock Yards, in an interview with the Hendersonian Friday morning reiterated that there will be no changes for customers right now. He said customers will continue to get information from the bank via direct communication and other methods.
More specific information will be coming in the summer, he said.
He was out of town and away from his desk, and said he didn’t know the number of job losses, but did note that several bank operations positions that had not been anticipated to be kept were able to remain in Henderson.
“That was a really great thing,” he said.
Davis concurred, saying the number of job losses was less than expected and bank officials had really worked hard to find positions locally by moving people around and backfilling positions.
Hillebrand said Stock Yards is proud to able to complete this merger and continue community banking, especially when technology and regulatory fees are forcing many smaller, community banks out of business.
Hillebrand also said that Stock Yards will continue the level of funding and community support of Field & Main, including the funding and support F&M had given to the W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival.
Meanwhile, Thursday was Davis’ last day on the job with Field & Main. (He will be a member of the Stock Yards board going forward.) He said he has worked for the bank, formerly Ohio Valley Bank, for 43 of the last 45 years.
Davis took a job at a bank in Louisiana in the 1980s, before Ray Preston, chairman and majority owner of Ohio Valley Bank, called him back to work at OV Bank, he said.
Davis’ answer about leaving the bank after so many years did not focus on the past, but on his next step. The Preston Family Foundation, on which he serves on the board, is opening an office on Water Street, in the building formerly used by Premier Pediatrics across the street from Audubon Mill Park, and he will assist in that new endeavor.
The Preston Family Foundation had for the most part operated out of the Field & Main downtown location with Davis and assistant Brianna Cessna. But now working out of its own office and a dedicated staff of Cessna and Andrea Payne, Davis said he believes the work of the foundation can be taken to the next level.
That includes the giving side of the foundation, but he also said that will include advising local nonprofit organizations on issues that affect their success.
On Friday morning, Davis said it was his first day of semi-retirement.
“I’m trying to get acclimated to that,” he said.
